0. Book highlights from "How to be The Startup Hero" by @TimDraper (The link below doesn't include the Kindle version for some reason, which is how I read it) amazon.com/How-Startup-He…
1. Draper is a prominent Silicon Valley VC and has been involved with some of the biggest tech companies over the years. He's come under fire recently for some of his views (more on this at the end of the thread) but his startup knowledge is second to none
2. He's perhaps best known for creating viral marketing -- marketing that spreads from person to person like a virus through word of mouth. This became popular when he advised Hotmail to include a "Get your free email" note and link at the end of every email its users sent
3. As a VC, he invests in startups based on the tech, market, and founders. The tech should be unique and applicable to existing markets, the markets should be large but with stagnant incumbents, and the founders should be experts about their company, tech, and market
4. The book is separated into two parts: first describing qualities entrepreneurs should have and second describing how to build a startup. Entrepreneurs take many risks ($, career, etc) but they advance tech, push competitors, and drive improvements. Starting with 1st part:
5. The Startup Hero Pledge: I will promote freedom, pursue progress, make sacrifices, and learn from failures. I'll set positive examples, treat people well, stay true to my word, and make amends. I'll be fair, honest, and enthusiastic while taking care of myself and having fun
6. Having these qualities while building a network and honorable reputation is paramount. Your network should be built up and down; act as a connector for people. Your reputation is everything from what you do to who you work with to how you treat people, employees to customers
7. Your reputation (and brand) reaches further and faster than you can. Do the small things like introduce people and write thank you notes after being helped. Above all, the best entrepreneurs Draper has worked with focused on delighting users and customers
8. The second part of the book offers a lot of practical advice on creating a business. None of this advice is revolutionary per se but it's a succinct look at an industry insider's view. Some of the more memorable tidbits follow:
9. Before you pitch others, you need a rock solid business plan. A good biz plan is both a sales document for the outside world and a guide for you to help run your company
10. Startup Hero biz plan includes: company vision, mission, problem/solution, the potential market, how it works and is built and you'll market it, who's on your team and lastly how you'll make money
11. The best and most innovative biz models make some part of their expenses almost zero. Take viral marketing, if your customers market the product for you, you don't have to spend on advertising or marketing
12. In order for marketing to be viral, your company must provide value to the customer and the message must be almost frictionless to spread. Even better if the message is clear, it has complete freedom to spread without help, and the customer benefits from spreading it
13. Startups must be fair with society, customers, shareholders, suppliers and employees. Being fair in employee pay can be done through wages, commission, bonus, and stock. Wages should meet fundamental needs, commission plans should make sense, and bonuses used when work is +++
14. Stock is the best and fairest motivator for employees as it makes them owners as well. Startups need “owners” whose goal is to make the company better and stronger, to deliver the product sooner, to make the customer delighted with the quality and the price they pay
15. Besides paying employees fairly, startups must be very frugal with their finances early on. The best spend as little as possible creating product and use early customer feedback to determine product/market fit. Only after should you worry about marketing or growing employees
16. One sales tip is to go after small customers first since they typically decide faster and give you practice before approaching large, more complicated customers. Once product/market fit is achieved, then you pour on the spending to gobble up as much of market before others
17. When doing any kind of PR, make sure to mention company name and what you do. TV is about how you look, radio about how you speak. But print PR is about creating a story for the writer, giving them quotes, and walking through your entire thinking so they can make it clear
18. /Now for the bad parts of the book. There's A LOT of emphasis on Draper University, his startup school, and the book pushes it often. This is understandable as the book is likely just a detailed ad for what you can learn there, but it's overdone
19. But most of the recent heat is re: Draper's views and comments about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, the fraudulent blood testing company. He admits personal bias (he invested and Holmes is his daughter's good friend) but he defends them WAY too much, given what we now know
/END Despite the overdone marketing for Draper U and defense of Theranos, Startup Hero is a useful book for those wanting to learn about building a startup and becoming a successful entrepreneur and it gives an inside look at from a legendary VC
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